Jack Vettriano exhibition at Fife gallery which inspired him delayed until 2022

It is the second time the retrospective, planned for Kirkcaldy Galleries, which inspired his love of art, has been delayed.

Originally announced in 2019, it was scheduled to run from September 2020.

That date was pushed back to this summer.

Jack Vettriano in Kirkcaldy to promote his major new exhibition (Pic: Fife Photo Agency)

It has now been re-scheduled for June 2022.

The exhibition, Jack Vettriano: The Early Years, will include nearly a dozen paintings produced in his formative years before he decided to become a full-time artist, and are signed with his birth name.

It will showcase paintings created from in his 20s until he moved to London in 2000, and give his fans a fresh insight into his early years, with many of his works on loan from private collectors.

One of the paintings which will be on show for the first time in many years is The Critical Hour of 3am – a work Vettriano describes as capturing the moment that he grappled with the decision to give up his previous life and work to devote himself full time to painting.

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/people/87000-fifers-get-first-covid-vaccine-region-lags-behind-scottish-rate-3138365

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/politics/council-apologises-after-220000-bins-left-unemptied-across-fife-3138490

And, as a sign of how far he has come despite his lack of formal training, a copy of an early rejection letter from Edinburgh College of Art will also be included.

It is expected to draws huge crowds a decade on from his last exhibition at the Fife gallery which broke box office records.

The further delay was confirmed on Kirkcaldy Galleries’ Facebook page.

It said: “Uncertainty over when social distancing and travel restrictions will be lifted has forced us to postpone the much-anticipated Jack Vettriano: The Early Years exhibition until 2022.

Working closely with the artist and collectors, we have decided to reschedule this major show until June 17 to October 23.”But the new dates will see the exhibition get an extended run with his work on show for two months.

The statement added: “This will allow far greater access than was originally possible and give more people the opportunity to attend over the summer and October holiday periods next year.”

Ticketholders will be contacted before tickets go on general release again.

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.

https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/nord/dm/FFP/V